Brussels  - The Czech Republic, a eurosceptic dwarf of a nation currently at the helm of the European Union, rushed to the rescue of the bloc's single market Wednesday amid criticism that it is not doing enough to combat the economic crisis.

By calling an extraordinary summit for March 1, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek moved to defend his country's ability to preside over the 27-member bloc.

He has a tough act to follow. His predecessor, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, rushed from crisis to crisis in what turned out to be one of the most active EU presidencies in recent years.

"Some countries feel that they should actually rule the European Union during their presidency," Topolanek said during a visit to Brussels.

"I have an ambition to search for compromise," he said.

Ahead of assuming the presidency, some diplomats had questioned whether the Czech Republic, a nation of just 10 million people which only joined the bloc in 2004, would have enough clout to fulfill such a delicate role.

Others wondered whether its centre-right government, which has displayed a lukewarm attitude towards the EU, might not undermine efforts to further integrate the bloc.

Nor did it help that a Czech presidency art installation decorating the Brussels building where EU summits take place offended several member states by mocking national stereotypes.

But after Wednesday's talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Topolanek fought back by erecting himself as the paladin of the EU's single market at a time of deep recession.

"Curing the crisis does not consist of individual countries going against the rules on which the European Union is based," Topolanek said.

His comment appeared to be once again directed at France, which is pushing for a series of controversial measures designed to protect its ailing car industry from outside competition.

An advocate of the free market, Topolanek also criticized populist politicians or those who think that everything can be resolved by the state.

"If we have politicians interfering more than strictly necessary through protectionism, they may indeed protract the crisis," he said.

"We need to talk together, remove tensions and fight against populism," he said.

Few in the room had any doubt that he was thinking of his "friend" Sarkozy.

But after a highly-publicized row with the French president over calls for French carmaking plants in Eastern Europe to be relocated to France, Topolanek offered Sarkozy an olive branch.

"I consider the spat useless and I learned a lesson: next time I will make a telephone call," he said.

Prior to latest crisis, Topolanek's most notable achievement had been what analysts called his "Sarkozy-style shuttle diplomacy" between Kiev and Moscow, at the height of a January gas crisis between Ukraine and Russia that left thousands of European homes without heating.

At the March 1 summit in Brussels, Topolanek will again have to resort to all of his diplomatic skills to defend his free-market agenda before Sarkozy.

The premier is nevertheless used to confronting his political foes.

While in Brussels, Topolanek had to shrug off claims by Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a vitriolic critic of the EU, that little would be achieved by holding yet another summit.

"My goal is to hold a political debate at the highest level in order to strengthen EU coordination in countering the crisis," Topolanek said. (dpa)